


like a love letter

by Marezelle



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - No Bending, F/F, coffee shop AU, fluffy as all hell, rating could change idk
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-24
Updated: 2016-06-23
Packaged: 2018-07-16 22:34:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,190
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7287367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Marezelle/pseuds/Marezelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When you find yourself dating the girl of your dreams, well, you know you've gotta give it everything you've got. That's not hard when every moment with her makes you feel like you're becoming the best version of yourself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	like a love letter

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ziraseal](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziraseal/gifts).



> Written for the most wonderful ziraseal, who requested a fluffy Jinopal oneshot to offset the angst I’ve given her about  my other story . Then I decided rather quickly that this needed to be more than a oneshot, because obviously what I need is more writing on my plate.

 When you weigh it altogether, Jinora really is rather happy with her life.

Republic City is beautiful in the late summer, if one doesn’t mind the heat. And in fact, Jinora relishes it. She loves the feel of it on her skin as she walks to work. The bay causes a heavy humidity to hover through the streets, the sunshine sizzling on the pavement, but there’s a feel to it that is unlike anywhere else in the world. This is _her_ city. Oh, Ba Sing Se is grand, if polluted, and the Fire Nation Capital is dazzling as well, but she wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

Both of her jobs are nice, too. She teaches a community yoga class a few times a week over on the west side of the city, but on weekdays she works as a barista at the coffee shop down the street from her apartment. Her coworkers are nice, and there’s a deep yet simple satisfaction in whipping up lattes and teas for the daily crowd. Service, like teaching, comes easy to Jinora. The smiles on her customers’ faces are genuine, and her tip jar usually comes up with more than enough to cover her cell phone bill each month.

Her favorite shift to work is the opening one, and her manager is happy to give it to her. Perhaps the morning is the busiest time of the day, but it’s also the liveliest. When Jinora gets to the shop at six-thirty in order to open at seven, the streets of the city are already beginning to move. Ten minutes before unlocking the door she makes herself an iced vanilla macchiato and helps herself to a blueberry muffin.

The first customer is a regular. Zhu Li picks up two plain coffees every weekday morning, never later than seven-fifteen. Jinora has them ready in a cardboard carrier by the time the woman reaches the counter.

“Good morning, Zhu Li. The usual?”

Zhu Li. “Good morning to you too, Jinora. And yes.” She passes over a company credit card, which Jinora swipes and returns before sliding the coffees over. “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. Have a good day!” Another customer walks in just as Zhu Li leaves, and thus begins Jinora’s morning ritual of pouring coffee and serving up breakfast sandwiches. It’s good. The weather outside is sunny, and most of the people who stop in are in a good mood. This early in the day most customers take their drinks to go, but a few order sandwiches and take their time eating before heading off to work or where-have-you.

At five to eight, her coworker Kai shows up for his shift.

“How’s it goin’, Jinora?” he asks, slipping behind the counter and back toward the office.

“It’s all good,” she says. She hands a customer change and moves to make the fifth cappuccino of the morning. A minute and a half later, Kai joins her beside the espresso machine.

“Not too busy, yet?”

“Meh,” Jinora shrugs. After handing the drink over to the customer, she steps over to the cash register. “I’ve been able to manage, but it’s starting to pick up.”

Kai nods. “So the usual.” They settle into their usual positions; Jinora at the register, and Kai making the drinks. It’s the most efficient arrangement when it’s the two of them. After three years of sharing shifts they’ve realized what works best for both of them.

They don’t chat much after that. Ever since their failed relationship—eight months long and, in retrospect, a mistake from the beginning—working together hasn’t been _quite_ the same. They’ve been broken up for almost a year, true, but she still misses how easy their dynamic used to be. Shifts with Kai used to be fun. Now they’re just ordinary, and more often than not she wishes it was someone else working with her, even if he’s the best barista they’ve got.

The morning passes on uneventfully until a little after ten, when Jinora finds herself staring into the green eyes of a new customer.

“How may I help you?” Jinora asks, and then swallows. Oh, she’s cute. She’s _real_ cute. The customer has warm brown skin and dark hair cut into a bob not much unlike her own, except with bangs. The grass green sleeveless blouse she’s wearing suits her well, too.

Kai coughs behind her, but Jinora ignores him. He knows her all too well, and it’s likely he’d caught the quiver in her voice when she spoke. Well, whatever. She knows he won’t say anything, at least until the customer leaves.

The woman grins at Jinora before her eyes dart up to the menu board above her head. “Could I get a medium peach blueberry lemonade, please?”

Jinora taps at the register. “Anything else?”

“Nope, that’s it.” She looks down at Jinora’s name tag. “Oh! You’re Jinora! My friend Korra suggested this place, she said she knows you?”

“You know Korra?” Jinora asks stupidly, before shaking her head. “I mean, um, obviously you do. Yeah, Korra’s a family friend, I’ve known her since we were little.”

“That’s awesome,” the woman says, handing over a debit card. She smiles. “I met her when she started dating Asami. She and I met a few years ago, not long after I first came to the city.”

Asami is Korra’s girlfriend of three years, and someone Jinora would trust with anything. If Asami is friends with this woman then she’s probably someone worth knowing. Jinora swipes the card, and gives it back. “They’re both really great people,” Jinora says. “I go over to their place sometimes for dinner.”

The bell on the door rings, and two more customers walks in. The woman glances behind her, and smiles. “Guess I’ll get going. It was great meeting you, Jinora.”

Jinora smiles back. “You too. See you around?”

The other woman nods, before walking to the end of the counter to wait on her drink. By the time Jinora is finished taking the next few orders, the woman is gone.

Kai gives her a grin over his shoulder, and Jinora rolls her eyes. She doesn’t even care that he can definitely see the way she’s blushing.

***

When the woman comes back the next day, Jinora making drinks and Yung is at the register. She fights the probably-imagined feeling of eyes watching her, and tries to focus instead on making the same lemonade that the woman had ordered the day before.

There’s no customers behind her, fortunately, so when Jinora hands the woman her drink there’s no excuse not to stand and chat for a moment. “Hi, again,” Jinora says, sliding the lemonade across the counter.

“Good morning, again. I figured I’d come back in here. Korra was right, this is the best lemonade in town.” She says, taking a sip and smiling at Jinora. Huh. She has to be imagining the sparkle in her eyes, because it’s unlikely that the woman is flirting with her.

“You know, I didn’t catch your name yesterday,” Jinora says casually, grabbing a rag and wiping at a spot on the counter. She doesn’t look away from the woman, though.

“Oh! Sorry, I didn’t realize. I’m Opal,” the woman says, batting her eyelashes a little. Uh, _wow._

“That’s a gorgeous name,” Jinora says without thinking. Then she freezes. “I mean, uh-”

Opal looks pleased, and her smile only widens. “Thank you,” she interrupts, and then she winks. Jinora’s done for. “I have to get going, but I’ll see you tomorrow?”

All Jinora can do is nod, and before she knows it, Opal’s out the door.

 

The first thing Jinora does when she leaves work is call Asami. She knows that it should be Asami’s lunch break because it’s nearly half past noon and if Asami is anything, it’s on a schedule.

True to form, Asami answers almost immediately. “Hey there, Jinora. How are you?”

Jinora lets herself into her apartment building with one hand, and begins the walk up to the third floor. “I’m good. Uh, really good, actually. I just had a quick question. Yesterday a new customer came into the shop, and she said she knew you and Korra?”

“Oh, who was it?”

“She said her name was Opal. Apparently Korra told her about the shop.”

“That makes sense, Korra mentioned seeing her last weekend at the gym. Opal is a good friend, there’s nothing to worry about there. Was that your question?”

Jinora swallows. “Um, not quite. I just wanted to ask you something, because I think she might have been flirting with me. Do you know if she likes girls?”

“Oh yeah, she’s bi,” Asami answers immediately, a laugh in her voice. “And she _was_ probably flirting with you, knowing her. She dated our friend Bolin for about a year, but they broke up at the end of last year. It never really got serious. She moved back home for a little while and came back to the city at the beginning of the summer. She does a lot of volunteer work, works as a sky diving instructor. Did you like her?”

“I, uh, I think so.” She unlocks her apartment door. “She said she’d be back tomorrow, so we’ll see what happens. Thanks, Asami.”

“No problem, Jinora. You know, you should come over soon. Your sister, too. Korra misses you guys.”

She falls down onto her couch and smiles. “I miss her, too. I’ll text Ikki and see how busy she is. Just text me which nights work for you guys.”

“Sounds good! Okay, I have to get back to my lunch, I have a meeting in half an hour. Have a great day, Jinora. Talk to you soon?”

“Yup. You too, Asami.” Jinora hangs up, and stares out her living room window to the blue sky overhead. She’s got four hours before she has to leave to teach her class, and nothing to do except a few chores and perhaps a nap.

After a few minutes of watching the clouds roll over the city, she knows exactly how she’s going to ask Opal out.

***

When Jinora asks Kai if he’ll take the register for a little while, he gives her a strange look but doesn’t comment. She’s grateful and lets him know that, offering him her day’s tips because, well, why not. If this works, she figures, it’ll be worth more than a few dollars.

Around eleven forty-five the bell on the door rings and in comes Opal, this time wearing a lime racerback tank top and black workout leggings with complementary green accents. She looks hot, honestly, and Jinora flashes a smile at her before turning and grabbing the sharpie sitting on the counter behind her.

By the time Opal is finished ordering her lemonade, Jinora has already written her number on a medium clear plastic cup. She takes her time preparing the drink, snapping a lid on it with care before facing Opal at the pick-up counter.

“Happy Wednesday,” Opal says, smiling, and she keeps her eyes on Jinora as she takes a bite of an apple.

Jinora grins back. “Happy Wednesday, indeed. How’s your morning?” She hands Opal the cup of lemonade, and the other woman takes it without so much as glancing at it.

“It’s been good. How about you?” She ignores the fact that another customer is ordering. If she’s lucky Kai will make the drink for her.

Opal shrugs a shoulder. “Oh, you know. The usual.” She takes a long sip of her lemonade. “Today’s my day off, so I’m probably going to go for a run after this. Ever been on the trail by the bay?”

“Along the waterfront? I’ve gone cycling down there. It’s a pretty view,” Jinora says. “I’m not much of a runner, though.”

“I like it. It’s a good way to decompress, you know?”

“I do, actually. It’s why I like cycling, though I don’t get out as much as I used to. Dragging my bicycle down two flights of stairs is a bit of a pain.”

Kai taps her on the shoulder. “Jinora, can you make this?” She gives him a _look_ , but he puts his hands up innocently. “I’d cover you if I could, but there’s a line forming.”

When she turns back to Opal with an apology on her lips, the woman is smiling. “It’s alright, I shouldn’t bother you at work like this. I was wondering, though, if you’d like to get dinner later this—”

Jinora interrupts, “I really do have to get back to work, but yes. I’d love to. Call me later, and we’ll set something up.” She nods her chin at the lemonade cup, eyes darting to it meaningfully, and Opal glances at it. Her eyes widen in surprise, and Jinora smirks. “Talk to you later,” she says, winking at Opal before turning back to her job.

 

When Opal calls her later that night, they agree on Narook’s Seaweed Noodlery for Friday at one. Jinora hangs up the phone feeling hopeful, and _happy_. Happy to see where this goes, and happy to have snagged a date with the prettiest girl she's ever seen.

**Author's Note:**

> Is this embarrassingly similar to that  that other jinopal coffee shop au  I wrote? Maybe, but this one isn’t a college au and also not a oneshot. Sue me, I’ve got a weakness for coffee and cute bisexual women.
> 
> Sooooo keep an eye out for more of this, I guess. Thanks for reading!


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